


Cherry

by WolfenM



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Character(s), Alien Cultural Differences, Alien Culture, Alternative Sexuality, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angsty Schmoop, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Romance, Awkwardness, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexuality, Canonical Character Death, Comfort/Angst, Complicated Relationships, Crying, Depression, Drama & Romance, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode Related, Episode Tag, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Loss, Female Homosexuality, Fluff, Heavy Angst, Homosexuality, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Lies, Loss, Loss of Parent(s), M/M, Men Crying, Off-screen Relationship(s), Psychological Trauma, Revelations, Romance, Secret Identity, Secret Relationship, Secrets, Self-Esteem Issues, Sexuality, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Truth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-09-27 09:10:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9996026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfenM/pseuds/WolfenM
Summary: An alien fruit turns Mon-El into an emotional wreck. Will Kara still want anything to do with him after a few secrets shake loose?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers up through 2.13 "Mr. and Mrs. Mxyzptlk".
> 
> This fic will be Jossed in just a short while, by the next ep. *sigh* Ah, well, the muse wouldn't leave me alone, but yesterday was the first chance I had to actually work on it ....
> 
> The nuances of Daxam culture as I have depicted them are my own ideas -- don't blame DC for them. :P
> 
> DISCLAIMER: Kara Danvers (/Zor-El), Mon-El, Lar Gand, Winn Schott, Alex Danvers, J'onn J'onnz, Jimmy/James Olsen, Maggie Sawyer, Mxyzptlk, and Maaldoria ©/TM DC / CW / Greg Berlanti. Not used with permission, and no profit is being made.

~*M*M*M*~  
After a sweet evening with Kara, where they had finally gotten on the same page regarding their feelings (and stayed there for more than five minutes), Mon-El was soaring high on happiness as he went to sleep. 

So of course he had a nightmare. 

Oh, the dream _started_ sweet -- he was back on Kara's couch, as if he hadn't left. But then the thrice-damned imp returned, interrupting them much as he had with his original arrival on Earth. Mxyzptlk repeated his earlier insults from the _Hamilton_ stage, this time in front of Kara -- and added another: 

"He's a liar, Kara," the imp pointed out. "He pretended not to remember kissing you, lied about why he didn't help the police when you'd told him to, kept the secret of how to defeat me from you ...." 

"He confessed to the first two, though!" Kara countered. "And we've talked about it -- he knows how important truth is to me. He won't keep secrets again." 

Mxy laughed. "You think so? You think he's told you _everything?_ " He turned to Mon-El. "Have you confessed who you _really_ are, _Your Highness?_ " 

"Highness?" Kara echoed, eyes growing wide, then narrowing. "Are you telling me--" 

"Let me introduce you to Prince Lar of House Gand. Hey, how are your _slaves_ doing, Your Selfishness? Oh, that's right -- they all _died_ when you abandoned Daxam!" 

Kara grew pale, backing away. "The slaves -- you didn't just _go_ to Maaldoria, you _bought **slaves**!_ You've _lied_ to me about who you are, a-and then you ... you _kissed_ me!" 

"Under false pretenses!" Mxy chimed in with a shark smile. 

"Exactly!" Kara nodded "You knew I wouldn't have wanted to, if I'd known who you _really_ were!" 

"I'm sorry," Lar whispered, feeling gutted. He'd essentially convinced himself by this point that, as far as the universe was concerned, he really _was_ Mon-El now, so it hadn't even occurred to him to say otherwise. He hadn't _meant_ to lie .... "I ... I didn't really _think_ about it last night--" 

"Do you _ever_ think?" Mxy interrupted gleefully, bouncing on his feet. 

"--but I _should_ have. It's just ..." 

"I don't wanna hear your excuses anymore," Kara growled, looking disgusted and angry. "In fact, I don't ever want to _see_ you again. I don't even want you on on the same _planet._ You have _no place_ on Earth. _Leave_." 

If he was gutted before, now it was like his stomach was filled with lead. "Kara ... Kara, _please_ \--" 

" _LEEEEEEEEEEAVE!_ " 

Her scream slammed him into the wall. 

Or rather, the floor -- he'd fallen out of bed. 

He crawled back into bed, pulling in the covers over him, then curled into a fetal position, feeling sick with guilt. Once he'd become Kara's friend, there'd never seemed to be a good time to admit he'd lied -- much less reveal he was a member of the very family she seemed to despise! 

And with good reason. In order to better understand her feelings, he'd been reading up on things like Earth's history of slavery, and about racism -- and feminism. And in doing so, he came to understand just how privileged his upbringing had been -- and how others had suffered for his comfort. Truly, it disgusted him now. And, worse, he came to realise how his late best friend, his bodyguard Mon-El, had tried to gently point out such things, steer Lar in a more empathetIc direction. If only he had been less gentle! Lar mourned his planet, his people, and the _real_ Mon-El, but not the identity Lar Gand. He'd hoped to honour his dear friend by living more virtuously, in the man's name -- _literally_. 

So far, though, the new Mon-El wasn't doing so hot. Well, he'd warned Kara he wasn't a hero. Still, he _did_ want to be a better person -- he just didn't have as much faith in his ability to do so as Kara did. 

Maybe she wouldn't _have_ that faith anymore, once she learned the truth. 

And she _would_ learn, sooner or later. Better now, from him, than by someone else, later, like a Maaldorian. Even if it meant the nightmare was prophetic, and she banished him from her life, or even from the planet, she deserved honesty -- and with it, the ability to make an informed decision about being with him. 

Never mind that the thought of losing her was his worst fear these days. He was done being selfish .... 

~*W*W*W*~  
"Those look yummy!" Winn remarked. He was helping J'onn sort through boxes of alien contraband (Maggie had brought them from the raid of a black-market operation), and had just spotted some grape-like clusters of berries in a box. It was too early for lunch, but a snack wouldn't be unwelcome .... 

"Psiocherries are, and they're safe for humans, but be careful with those -- sometimes there are still living psioticks hiding in them," J'onn warned. "Especially when illegally imported by Bosselins -- they're immune to the psioticks, so they aren't as careful about eliminating them." 

"What _are_ ... whatever you said," Winn asked, eyeing the fruit warily now. 

"Psioticks -- psionic parasites that feed on anxiety and depression. To that end, they inhibit chemicals that promote well-being -- for you, they would block seratonin and dopamine." 

"But if they've never met a human, how would they know what to block, or how?" 

"Well, they are psychic -- and intelligent. A person might not know consciously how their body works, but since their brain runs everything, more or less, the knowledge of how it works is in there." 

"What do they look like?" 

"Like little seeds, sort of like in raspberries -- technically, that's what they _are_ , seeds. When a potential host eats the fruit, the psioticks drive their host to deep despair, until they either waste away or commit suicide. Then the host becomes plant-food for a new psiocherry bush." 

Winn eyed the fruit with a horrified new respect. "Good to know," he squeaked. _I may never eat cherries again ...._

~*M*M*M*~  
He-who-lately-called-himself-Mon-El wasn't a wallower, so much as an _avoider_. After he'd promised himself he would tell Kara the truth, he didn't want to actually think about it any further -- not until it was time to make the confession, which he planned to do when they met later that evening. For now, he was determined to enjoy what might be his last day on the planet. So, after his shift, he texted Kara that he was going to to go for a leisurely walk in an outdoor alien street market near the bar, taking in the sights and sounds and even smells. 

It was something appealing to the latter that caught his attention, the distinctive scent of ... "Psiocherries!" 

"Yes indeed!" a sweet old female behind a fruit stand confirmed, shaking a small, clear plastic bag filled with the luscious purple gems at him. "$3 a pound!" 

"Sold!" he grinned, handing the money over. They were to be a gift for Kara, but he allowed himself to have one as he walked away -- he had to make sure they tasted all right, after all! And it did -- it was just as sweet and juicy and tart as he remembered. The taste conjured vague memories from his childhood, the occasions when his mother would bring him to the market, and they would share a bag as they browsed. The memory was bittersweet. 

It sharpened as he witnessed a mother walking hand-in-hand with her own young son. "Are you having fun?" she asked the child. 

"Yup! Thank you, Mommy! I love you!" 

"I love you too, sweetling!" 

The memory of his own late mother now cut Mon-El to the quick. Tears welling, he stifled a sob and hunted for somewhere moderately private, finally ducking into a nearby alley, past a dumpster, just before the waterworks let loose. 

He had never really grieved for his people, telling himself that tears wouldn't bring them back, and so the best way to honour them was to be happy in his new life. But he realised now that, in this too, he'd just fallen back on his habit of avoidance. He'd discovered that, if he didn't think about them, he could almost convince himself that they were still alive, waiting for him to return home. 

Now, he could think of nothing _but_ them -- of the beauty of a culture that would never be known again, and the ugliness of that same culture, which he now would never have the chance to rectify. Sliding down against a wall, sinking to the ground, he drew up his knees and buried his face in his arms. Soon, he felt like he'd shed a tear each for the entire population of Daxam .... 

~*K*K*K*~  
Kara's phone chirped as she, her sister, and their friends made their way out of the DEO. "Oh! Mon-El says he's going for a walk at a street market near the bar!" she read. "That actually sounds like fun! I think I'll try to find him there -- anybody know where exactly it is?" 

"Ironically enough, I just did a contraband bust there this morning," Maggie replied as she walked up to greet Alex. 

"And J'onn and I spent the afternoon cataloguing all Maggie found," Winn added with a wry smile. "I'm curious to see what else the market might have -- I'll go with you!" 

Of course Alex was in, seeing as Maggie was going to play guide, and since James and J'onn were going to the bar anyway, they came along too. 

"Hey, aren't those psiocherries?" Winn asked, sounding alarmed, as they passed an alien fruit stand. 

"$3 a bag," an old alien told them with a sweet smile, holding up one. 

"I'm sorry ma'am," Maggie began, taking out her badge, "but we had an incident earlier today, and--" 

The woman bolted -- right into the arms of Alex. Seconds later, the woman was in handcuffs, being dragged off by Maggie and Alex. 

"Keep an eye out," J'onn warned. "If anyone else bought those psiocherries, we could be in for a mass of suicides." 

"Say what now?" Jimmy asked, but it was too late -- J'onn had flown up above the crowd, doing aerial reconnaissance. 

Winn filled them in as he peered at the people around them. 

"I never knew psiocherries were so dangerous!" Kara mused as she too began to scan about, looking for anyone on the edge of despair. 

"Eh, it's like South American 'banana spiders' -- one of the deadliest spider species on Earth, but do you ever think about them when you buy a bunch of bananas ...? No. You just assume anything nasty's been taken care of." 

Kara made a mental note to Google the spider when she got home. 

And then she heard a sound that could be crying. She focused on it, zeroing in on the source. "I think I found something, but you guys keep looking, in case there are others ...." 

She followed the sound to an alley, around a dumpster, and gasped. 

"Mon-El! Are you hurt?!" 

As she hurried over, he scrambled to his feet, wiping away tears. "I'm fine! It's nothing!" he insisted. 

She reached out, but he edged away, which just worried her more. And then she remembered why she'd been tuning into the sound of crying in the first place. "Have you been eating psiocherries?" 

Looking surprised and confused, he drew a bag out of his pocket. "Just one. I saved the rest for you!" He held it out. 

Even with her worry, her heart did a little flip. "That's so sweet of you to think of me, really!" she told him, accepting the bag and tucking it in her purse. "But Winn says there was a batch that might still have psioticks in them, and I think he's right. Let's get you to the DEO to get checked out." She held out her hand. 

"Psioticks?" He crinkled his nose adorably. "What are those?" 

"I'll tell you on the way. Come on." She waggled her fingers for emphasis. 

He started to reach for her, then pulled away, looking like his dog just died. Her anxiety ratcheted up to eleven. Clearly he was infected; how long did he have before he, as Winn put it, died of a broken heart? Could they even help him, if he already had a psiotick in him? 

"Kara, I have to tell you something ...." 

"You can tell me on the way." She reached for his arm, but he backed away again. She was a second away from changing into her Supergirl persona, throwing him over her shoulder, and flying off with him! 

"You might not want me there after you heard what I have to say," he insisted. 

It was her turn to crinkle her nose in confusion. Did psioticks make people _paranoid_ , too? Making her angry was one thing (and he was pretty good at it), but she couldn't imagine there being anything he could tell her that would make her _abandon_ him! 

"I'm not Mon-El," he said in a rush. 

She went on her guard. "You mean you're a shapeshifter? Are you a White Martian?" Maybe the psioticks made it regret its mission? 

"No, no, I ..." His face screwed up, and he let out a sob. "I'm Prince Lar Gand. Mon-El was my _bodyguard_ \-- and the bravest man I've ever known." He slid down the wall with a plop. "I was afraid of Daxam's enemies finding me, so I gave you the first name that came to mind -- the name that was often first on my lips in the morning, and usually the last at night." 

The wistful look on his face was heartbreaking, enough so to quash the flare of jealousy. It didn't matter if he'd loved someone before Kara (and now was _not_ the time to be thrown for a loop that that someone had apparently been a _guy_ \-- or that her boyfriend was actually the _prince_ of a civilisation she'd loathed). 

His face crumpled again, eyes screwed shut, and he covered his mouth with his hand, shoulders shaking. She carefully knelt beside him, hesitantly laying a hand on his shoulder. He started with a gasp, but didn't try to run away this time. Instead, he began to apologise. "Kara, I ... I'm sorry I lied. I'm sorry I didn't tell you _sooner_. It's just ... the closer we got, the longer it had been since I told the lie in the first place, and I--" 

She laid a finger against his lips. "It's okay -- I understand. I'm not angry." 

He stared, looking baffled. "You aren't?" 

"I have a secret identity of my own, remember? And I knew J'onn for _months_ before I found his out -- and not because he _decided_ to tell me. But I'm glad you didn't wait _too_ much longer!" she teased. Her heart sank when he didn't smile. 

"And the fact that I was Daxam royalty -- a _slave-holder_ \-- isn't a deal-breaker?" 

Oh. She'd forgotten about that .... Now her heart sank in a _different_ way. And her stomach churned a little. Still, she managed a tight smile. "We can talk about that later. Right now, we need to get that psiotick out of you." 

She got to her feet and offered her hand again. She bit back a growl of frustration when he shook his head and looked away instead of taking it. 

"Just ... just leave me. I'm right where trash like me belongs -- by the dumpster." 

She hoped, when they got the psiotick out, it was something she'd be able to crush under her boot. She settled for squatting in front of him, taking hold of his chin, and saying, "You're. Not. Trash! You're the man I love!" She barely managed to maintain her composure when she realised what she'd said -- and that she _meant_ it. Not just liked. Not just _like_ -liked, even. _Mordo give me strength ...._

He met her eyes then, and she marvelled at the beauty in his, despite the pain. There was hope there, too, a spark of that undying optimism that she'd come to identify with him. It made his current self-deprecating state all the more unsettling. 

"You ... _love_ me?" he echoed, half-disbelieving, but the hope grew brighter. 

"I do," she promised, kissing him gently, and was relieved to feel him return it. "Now come on." She got to her feet again, offering her hand once more. 

He took it. 

"I love you, too, Kara," he whispered. 

She believed him. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and her friends try to treat Mon-El for the psiotick back at the DEO.

~*A*A*A*~  
Kara and the others had returned to the DEO with a handful of potential patients in-tow -- including Mon-El! Knowing how fond Kara had grown of the man, Alex kept an eye on her sister. She could see that the girl was barely keeping it together; she wasn't sure who was squeezing whose hand harder, both Kara's and Mon-El's grips being white-knuckled. And Mon-El was a wreck, eyes puffy and red and glittering, lip trembling, head hanging like the most beaten-down of dogs.

"Can you describe what happened after you ate the 'cherry?" Winn asked as a nurse took Mon-El's vitals. 

Alex understood that having a greater understanding of how the things worked was useful, but did he _have_ to question the guy Kara cared about? A guy who clearly had been through the emotional wringer and should probably be wrapped up in blankets and shown _The Puppy Bowl_ ASAP .... 

"I ... I started thinking of when my mother used to buy psiocherries for me while we were at the market," Mon-El began, voice rough. "A-and then I saw a woman, walking with her son, and ... it was like a floodgate opened." It seemed like the floodgates were about to open again. "S-suddenly, I had all these ... _memories_ going through my mind, and it finally sank in ... h-how _alone_ I am now." He closed his eyes and lips tight, bowing his head as he quietly sobbed, shoulders shaking. 

Kara gently slid her arms around him, fingers carding his hair, coaxing the grief from him. He returned the embrace, clinging to her as he began to sob without restraint. 

Alex remembered when things had finally sunk in for Kara like that, when her walls had come down enough around Alex to let go, let the pain flow freely. Alex felt her heart break for Mon-El now like it had (and every now and then, still did) for Kara. But at least Kara still had Kal-El, and the computer simulation of her mother, and the recordings of her people; Mon-El had _no one_ and _nothing_ from his world. The closest he had was Kara, who knew a little of his people and understood what he was going through in a way that no one else could. And Kara had him. Selfish as it seemed, Alex couldn't help but hope maybe Kara could heal at least a little more, as she helped _him_ heal .... 

Kara rocked Mon-El, speaking soothingly and rubbing circles on his back. Slowly, he relaxed, until he apparently fell into an exhausted sleep, Kara gently putting him to bed. Alex noted the dark circles around his eyes; he looked like he'd been in a fight! (Well, she supposed he _had_ been.) Winn ushered everyone out of the room, but Alex was surprised when Kara followed, after a kiss to Mon-El's forehead. 

"He'll be all right," Alex assured her, putting arm around her. 

Kara sighed, shaking her head. "There's more." 

Alex drew back, but left a hand on her sister's shoulder. "What do you mean?" 

Kara eyed their circle of friends -- J'onn, Winn, James, and now Maggie -- looking like she wasn't sure she should say anything. Alex was about to steer the girl into a private room, when Kara announced, "He's not Mon-El." 

Alex's hand instinctively went to her side-arm; her head whipping towards the view of the Not-Mon-El, she pulled a muscle in her neck. 

She felt Kara's hand on her arm a split-second before her sister said, "Wait, no! That's not a White Martian!" 

Alex turned back and found their friends in a similarly alert state, Kara holding out a palm to stay them. 

"It's still Mon-El! It's just ... he lied about his name." Kara looked around, then beckoned them closer. "He's actually Lar Gand, Prince of Daxam." 

Alex was relatively certain her face mirrored her friends, who all mirrored each other's shocked, even slightly disgusted expressions -- save for Maggie, who of course didn't really know the situation. 

"Anyway, he apologised, and sounded really guilty about lying to us. It's just ...." 

"What else could he say, waking up in a strange place," J'onn finished. 

Kara nodded. "I told him I understand -- _I_ have a secret identity, after all." 

"But you wonder if he ever would have told you, if not for the psiotick," Winn weighed in. 

"There is a little of that," Kara admitted. 

"I think he would have," Winn assured her. 

"There's more," Kara hedged. "I think ... part of why he didn't was because he'd had _slaves_." 

Everyone was uncomfortably silent. 

Finally, Maggie spoke up. "If it's any consolation, even killers can change. I've seen it. I'm not saying it excuses what he did, but what I do ... people think it stops at locking people away. And yeah, prison for some means just keeping them away from people they might hurt. But for _most_ prisoners, the intent is to help them become better people. And speaking as a lesbian and a woman of colour, I can say that sometimes people aren't being evil -- they just don't understand they harm they're doing until they have a chance to learn a new perspective. I'm betting on his world, it never even occurred to him to question slavery, just like we don't question that our produce is often picked by people who are paid less than minimum wage -- or our tech and clothes are often made in sweatshops. We're not so slavery-free as we like to tell ourselves." 

Kara seemed to consider that -- as did the rest of them, Alex included. 

"The question is, do you think this prince of yours would buy slaves _now_ , given a chance?" Maggie asked. 

"No," Kara said with total conviction. 

"And you've told me things that suggest he's been growing as a person, trying to be a better man," Alex pointed out. 

"That's true, he has!" Kara agreed, brightening. 

"Well, then, there ya go," Maggie grinned. 

Alex made a mental note to show her gratitude later. 

Kara turned to study the prince through the glass wall, her face getting clouded again. "There's one more thing." 

Alex took her by the shoulders. "Kara, it's clear he's crazy about you, and you're crazy about him! Stop looking for reasons to say no!" 

Kara looked surprised. "I hadn't thought of it that way! But even so, this is relevant to the psiotick situation -- it's another person in particular he might be grieving over: the _real_ Mon-El." 

"Who was ...?" Winn prompted when she wasn't any more forthcoming. 

"I ... well, he was his best friend and bodyguard, and the bravest man he knew, but ... I-I think he was also his ... _lover_." 

"What makes you think that?" James asked. 

"He said he gave that name because it was the first name on his lips in the morning, and the last every night." 

"Well, if he was a servant ...." Winn offered. 

"The way he said it, it felt like more than that," Kara replied, looking miserable. 

"So what if they were," Maggie asked, a note of warning in her voice. 

Alex slid a hand around her wrist, willing her beloved to remember that this was her sister she was talking to. She understood how Maggie felt, but .... 

"It's just ... can he _really_ love _me_ if he's gay?" Kara asked, her voice small. 

Alex relaxed; this wasn't about homophobia, so much as Kara's insecurity. "Kara, didn't he date _Eve?_ " she pointed out. "And didn't Eve tell you that he couldn't stop talking about _you?_ " 

"Yeah, but still ... maybe he's afraid of how gays are treated on Earth. Maybe I would be a ... a ..." 

"Beard?" Maggie chuckled. "Nah, I saw how he looked at you. I think his feelings are legit. If the real Mon-El _was_ his lover, then I'd say your prince is _bisexual_ , not gay. Remember what he said about his homeworld's philosophy, when Alex announced she and I are dating? 'The more, the merrier!' If anything, I'd say he was confused why Alex being with me was something to be surprised by." 

"I'd be more worried about him being a man-whore," Winn chimed in. 

Every head turned to him with a glare. 

He raised his hands in surrender. "He said himself, the more the merrier! And from the things he's said, Daxam sounds like Planet Orgy!" 

"Winn!" Kara squeaked, scandalised. 

"Winn, shut up," J'onn ordered before turning to Kara. "Look, even if he was ... _promiscuous_ , there are a lot of different cultures out there, with a lot of different expectations about and expressions of the combination of love, sex, and commitment. Sometimes even a single culture can have a wide variety. Just because he had a lot of lovers doesn't mean he _never_ intended to commit to someone. But even if he didn't back then, I've noticed Lar jump through every hoop in an effort to embrace the culture here, which is primarily monogamous. If it really bothers you, talk to him, but I get the sense that he's fully prepared to commit to _you_." 

Something occurred to Alex. "You called him Lar without hesitating! You knew I was seeing Maggie before I announced it -- did you already know Mon-El's real identity?" 

"Oh, you noticed that?" J'onn teased. 

"You _knew?_ Why didn't you _say_ anything?" Kara demanded. 

"Because his secret wasn't a threat. I could tell he was honest in every way that mattered, and that he had good reasons for calling himself Mon-El. In fact, we should _keep_ calling him that, for as long as he prefers it, since it encourages him to follow the man's positive example, and not still be the somewhat spoiled prince he once was. There's a very good person in th--NO!" 

J'onn had started to glance towards Mon-El's room just then; now, he was running to it. Alex followed, not even taking a moment to see what the problem was. J'onn wouldn't have behaved as he did for nothing. When he stopped short, Alex almost ran into him, but managed to swerve aside. And then she saw it: Mon-El, standing over an unconscious nurse, holding a gun to his temple. 

"Mon-El!" Kara pushed her way past J'onn and Alex, but stopped abruptly. "Mon-El, please ... put down the gun ...." 

"Why?" the prince asked -- not angrily, more defeated, his face pale, as if the life were draining from him. "My people are gone, and _your_ people just ... _tolerate_ me here. I can put us all out of our misery with one shot." 

"You'd be putting me _in_ misery, not out!" Kara protested. " _I love you!_ " 

Alex felt a pang for Kara -- her sister meant it! Alex could relate; she'd fallen hard and fast for Maggie. She prayed Kara's relationship didn't prove short-lived .... 

"That's sweet of you to say, but I know you're just saying that to be nice," Mon-El insisted to Kara, pulling back the safety. 

Kara used her super-speed and superior strength to wrestle the gun from him, tossing it to Alex, then throwing her arms around him. Alex let out a breath she didn't even know she'd been holding. James hurried over to the nurse, rousing her, then helping her to her feet and out of the room. 

" _Why?_ " Mon-El croaked. "Why do people _insist_ on saving me? If I were _worth_ saving, it would be the _real_ Mon-El standing here right now, because _I_ would have put _him_ in the capsule and died on Daxam!" 

"And then _he'd_ be the one asking _why_ right now! Would you think any less of him then?" Kara pointed out. 

The prince looked thoughtful, but then shook his head, gently pushing her away as he replied, "It's not the same. You said yourself that I was a coward. I only do what's best for me -- and even then, I fail half the time. You're better off not having to save me whenever I screw up." 

"Hey!" Kara not-so-gently took his chin in her hand. "We talked about this! _I_ decide what I do with my time -- including who I'm going to save and how I go about it! And _you're worth saving!_ " 

"Kara, you can't help him with a pep-talk -- it's the psiotick causing him to feel this way," J'onn reminded her gently. 

"See? I'm just a nuisance," Mon-El said with a wry smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Even if you love me now, you'll get sick of me, _leave_ me. And then there will be _no one_ left in my life." 

"Hey, what are we, chopped liver?" Winn complained. 

Mon-El's smile was wan now. "As I said, you _tolerate_ me as a kindness to Kara." 

"That's not true!' Winn insisted (and Alex thought he even meant it, never mind that Mon-El had gained what Winn had failed to: Kara's heart). 

"I'm telling you all, there's no point in arguing with him in this state. We _need_ to get that _psiotick_ out -- _now!_ " J'onn ordered. 

Kara pleaded with Mon-El, "Listen, if you really think you're a burden, then you can make things easier on everyone by just doing as I ask." Alex could tell it killed her sister to say that. "Please, let my friends help you!" 

"...Okay. If that's what you want ...." Mon-El shrugged. 

There was a collective sigh of relief. 

"But _how_ do we get it out?" Alex asked. "We can't do surgery -- we can't cut his skin!" 

Winn snapped his fingers. "I'll be right back!" And he was, a small case and a bottled water in his hand. From the case, he withdrew what looked to be a horse-pill, handing it and the water to the prince, telling him to get the pill down. He turned on a nearby monitor, then pulled out his phone, pulling up an app. The monitor now showed a strange, glistening room -- Mon-El's stomach. "Inside that pill is a small medical bot, which I can control with this app," Winn explained. Before long, he found the psiotick, which had lodged itself in the stomach lining. Using tiny pinchers, the robot plucked the psiotick free, sealing it inside a tiny compartment. 

"Okay, this part won't be so fun," Winn warned, handing Mon-El a basin. A moment later, Mon-El was noisily using it, everyone else looking politely away until the sounds stopped. 

"I'll just go take care of this, and help the other victims," Winn said, gingerly taking the basin away, wrinkling his nose as he left. 

"How do you feel?" Kara asked Mon-El, taking his hand. 

"Better," he assured her, and he looked it, the colour coming back to his cheeks. "And embarrassed. And in desperate need of a tooth-brushing," he chuckled. 

Alex felt a knot unravel in her neck. Mon-El would be okay -- which meant Kara would be as well. Alex caught J'onn and Maggie's eyes, gesturing to the door with her head; they nodded. Following them out, she stopped at the door, pulling a wrapped Starlight mint out of her pocket. "Mon-El, heads-up," she warned, tossing it to him, then shared a smile with Kara before closing the door behind her. 

~*K*K*K*~  
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, you know," Kara told Mon-El, squeezing his hand for emphasis. "Even if there was no psiotick at all." 

"Well, if there had been no psiotick, I wouldn't have needed to puke in front of our friends!" he pointed out ruefully, tearing the mint wrapper a little more forcefully than was strictly necessary before popping it in his mouth. 

She smiled at his use of "our", glad that he saw her friends as his, now, too. "You know what I mean. It took me a while to get over the shock of everything after I arrived, but when it finally sank in, I cried at the drop of a hat for _weeks_." 

"Why would you cry when a hat is dropped? And who kept dropping it?" he asked, the mint clacking against his teeth. 

_Rao, but he's adorable when he doesn't understand Earth sayings ...._ "It's just an expression -- it means I cried a _lot_ , without much to get me started." 

"So if I burst into tears now and then, you won't think less of me?" 

"I'll think _more_ of you," she assured him. "I've never understood the human penchant for emotional constipation." 

He grinned, but it quickly faded. "Kara ... about the slavery thing ... I'll understand if it sickens you too much to be with me because of it. It sickens _me_ , now that I have read human thoughts on the subject. I never really thought about it -- and that was inexcusable." 

"Well, I kinda got schooled on the subject myself today. But I appreciate that you've made an effort to understand why it's wrong, and agree that it is. More than that, I'm proud of you for making the effort. You did a bad thing, once upon a time, but you've owned up to it, and you're a better person now." 

"You really believe that?" She could hear him crunching the mint now. He looked skeptical, but she sensed the skepticism was regarding whether it was true, not whether she believed it. 

"I _know_ it. And I'm sure the other Mon-El knew too -- that's why he saved you. Why he _loved_ you." She remembered then what Maggie had said. "Did you ... were you two _mated?_ " 

He bit his lip. "It's hard to explain Daxam relationships -- we have a lot of words for different types of pairings, words English doesn't seem to have." She could hear the mint shards being rolled against his teeth again, as he thought. "Okay. Each Daxam relationship potentially has up to five components: pleasure, reproduction, property, allegiances, and love. Mon-El and I had three of them -- I'll leave you to guess _which_ three." He winked. 

"But for Daxam's royals," he continued, "precedence was placed on allegiances first, then reproduction, then property. Sooner or later, I had to have a mate who would benefit my kingdom (preferably with property), and then produce an heir. Love and pleasure _could_ be part of that relationship, but it wasn't necessary. We could seek love with whomever we chose after mating, but pleasure would only be allowed with someone of the same sex, to prevent accidental matings with others. It was the one freedom a mated royal was denied, but the rest of our people had." 

"So did you ... _mate?_ " She told herself it didn't matter, but, well, she wanted to know what his culture and personal history was like, if they were going to be together. 

"Not for the kingdom, no. My father never settled on anyone for me." 

Her stomach churned. "You would have had an arranged marriage?" 

He shrugged. "A rulers' children are -- _were_ ... well, pawns. Property, really, to be used for the good of the kingdom. I saw it as my duty. I think ... not to make excuses, but I think that's part of why slavery didn't both me -- I saw it as their duty, same as I had mine. But I understand now how that thinking was wrong -- I certainly had a far better lot than a true slave." 

Her eyes began to sting. "So what about ... _love_? Have you ever had that?" 

He eyed her curiously. "You mean aside from Mon-El? On Daxam, no. A few came close, but ... what is it the humans say? No cigar. But here on Earth ... when I told you I love you, I _meant_ it." And the way he looked at her, it was hard _not_ to believe him, but .... 

Warmth skirted across her skin, but the nagging doubt in the back of her mind would be silenced. 

"Do you think you could ever love me as much as you did Mon-El?" 

"I think I already do." His eyes and smile were soft as he brushed her hair back behind her ear, his fingers leaving a hot trail on her cheek. 

She wished her brain would leave well enough alone. "Do you think ... do you think you'll fall in love with someone _else_ someday, too?" Since she was already his second .... 

He seemed confused, but then understanding lit his eyes. "Oh! Oh, no, don't worry, Kara -- I understand that, for the most part, Kryptonian culture and the culture of this country aren't into ... _open_ relationships. And really, I already expected to commit to one person someday -- someone I wouldn't even get to choose. But now I _can_ choose. So yes, I swear, if you decide when our courtship is done that will have me, then I will devote myself to you alone. Being with you is the best fate I could imagine anyway," he added with a lopsided smile. 

She blushed. Coming from an Earth boy, those words would have sounded like the cheesiest pick-up lines ever, but from Mon-El -- her goofy, sweet, earnest fellow refugee -- they were poetry. "And how long _is_ Daxam courtship?" she asked, trying to sound coy but, to her ears, failing miserably. 

"As long as my lady wishes," he whispered. 

She kissed him, eager to get started. 

~FINIS~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading (even with it basically being AU to canon from the get-go! XD). Hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> If you've enjoyed my writing, I invite you to explore my original fantasy storyverse, [Gaiankind](http://gaiankind.com)! You can even find Gaiankind stories for free [here](http://archiveofourown.org/tags/Gaiankind) on AO3!


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